When it comes to customer service, there is a vast difference between how customers see it and how executives perceive it.

Irrespective of what the customers think, call center executives are highly confident about the quality of service they offer, at least according to a survey conducted by Firstsource Solutions. About 85 percent of call center executives surveyed think the service their company provides is “exceptional” or “good.”

According to the survey, there were only a few executives who thought they actually provided poor service. However, over a third of respondents saw ensuring a positive customer experience as the biggest challenge facing contact centers today.

So what is preventing these customer service executives from providing exceptional customer service? Many (41 percent) believe that it is a scarce use of data, and also a weak connection between customer and agent (38 percent). Other factors are cited as well, like making the brand part of the online relationship (40 percent), converting to a multichannel approach (35 percent), awareness regarding customer concerns (13 percent), and poor management of personnel (8 percent).

“It is not surprising that ensuring a positive customer experience is top of mind for contact center executives. Given the intensely competitive marketplace in industries across the board, effective analysis and use of data is becoming more and more ingrained in an organization’s customer service practices. Actionable data analysis is a key element to understanding customer behavior and desires, and refining contact center practices that then increase satisfaction and reduce churn,” said Michael Roy, vice president, Strategy and Advisor Relations, Firstsource.

“Part of delivering a positive experience is making sure contact centers are able to communicate with the customer in their preferred method, meeting them where they are, agnostic to device,” he continued. “Yet implementing a multichannel approach is challenging and requires a 360 degree view of customer behavior and propensities meshed with the organization’s capabilities and priorities.”